Shots fired as 4 teen girl runaways try to run over officer in Crawfordsville

Shots were fired at a group of teen girls who tried to run over a Crawfordsville police officer with a stolen van early Sunday.

About 1:20 a.m., a Crawfordsville officer spotted a maroon 2002 Ford van on the south side of the city.

Police were looking for that vehicle after receiving information that it was stolen in Greencastle.

The officer stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of the Sears appliance store. The officer stepped out of the squad car and ordered the subjects out of the vehicle.

The driver then put the van in reverse, struck the police car and attempted to run the officer down. The officer fired several shots at the van to protect himself, but no one was hit.

The van left the parking lot. The officer then gave chase in his car.

The van drove south onto U.S. 231 for about a block before turning into a Wal-Mart with the officer following.

The van stopped, and all four teens fled. As other officers arrived, the first officer had one suspect in custody. He told Crawfordsville and Montgomery County Sheriff's officers that the three subjects had fled into a nearby ditch.

After a short pursuit, the suspects also were placed into custody.

All four were girls ranging in age from 13 to 17. Police said the teens escaped early Sunday from the ResCare Residential Program in Greencastle.

The stolen Ford van was the property of ResCare.

As of Sunday night, the suspects and the officer had not been identified.

The investigation is being conducted by Master Trooper Detective Jay Harper and First Sgt. Tom McKee of the Indiana State Police Criminal Investigation Division, Sgt. Jim Cody of the Indiana State Police Crime Scene Investigations Unit, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office and Crawfordsville Police Department.

- Justin L. Mack/jmack@jconline.com

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Shots fired as 4 teen girl runaways try to run over officer in Crawfordsville

Shot were fired at group of teen girls who tried to run over a Crawfordsville police officer with a stolen van early Sunday.